Oregon-Stanford Preview

(AP) -- Almost every week, Stanford coach David Shaw delegates a backup quarterback to the scout team in practice who can best simulate the upcoming opponent.

Not this week.

Shaw's search for somebody on the roster to mimic Marcus Mariota and Oregon's up-tempo offense was deemed a lost cause. There's nobody who could even come close.

"We have to sign somebody," he joked.

Slowing down Mariota will be the top priority when sixth-ranked Stanford (7-1, 5-1 Pac-12) hosts No. 2 Oregon (8-0, 5-0) on Thursday night in a matchup of the winners of the past four conference championships.

In 21 starts, the Heisman Trophy hopeful has put up video game-like numbers against nearly every team he's faced. That is, except for Stanford.

The Cardinal handed Mariota the only loss of his career last season, 17-14 in overtime in Eugene. Stanford's victory ended then-No. 1 Oregon's three-year run as conference champion and dashed the Ducks' national championship dreams -- not to mention Mariota's chances for college football's most prestigious award.

"If our guys use last year as a motivational factor to practice harder ... we'll take it," coach Mark Helfrich told Oregon's official website. "Any external motivation that was used to prepare, great."

Duplicating last season's performance might be even tougher for Stanford.

Mariota has thrown for 2,281 yards and 20 touchdowns and run for 587 yards and nine TDs this season. He's completing 64.0 percent of his passes and, perhaps most impressively, has not thrown an interception. The last time he was picked off was during last season's meeting with the Cardinal.

"I thought last year he was the best quarterback in the nation, and I feel the same way this year," Shaw said. "I don't care about stats. Stats don't mean anything. You watch the film, you see a kid that makes every throw. Every throw is accurate. Twenty touchdowns and no interceptions? Every ball is perfect, every ball is in stride, every ball there's no wobble on it. Everything's pretty.

"As a former receiver, you always appreciate that, a guy that just throws a pretty ball. And then when nobody's open, he just takes off and outruns everybody. You're designing a quarterback, that's what you want."

The secret to Stanford's success against Mariota remains somewhat of a mystery.

The Cardinal credit a physical, gap-plugging 3-4 scheme under defensive coordinator Derek Mason, who emphasizes the most basic fundamentals: tackling and discipline. Since losing 27-21 at Utah on Oct. 12, Stanford has shut down Brett Hundley and UCLA (10 points) and Sean Mannion and Oregon State (12 points) in back-to-back victories.

Now the Cardinal hope to make it three in a row with Mariota up next.

"He's a great player. He's going to make some plays. But we can't just let him take the ball, read what we're doing," said linebacker A.J. Tarpley, who intercepted Mariota last season. "We want to try and mix it up a little bit, whether that's attacking him, try to show something that looks like something but it's actually something else. We'll mix it up. We don't want them to get in their rhythm. Because once they do that, you can't stop them."

In the first 10 games before last season's meeting, the Ducks seemed unstoppable under Mariota. Oregon led the FBS with 54.8 points per game and never scored fewer than 42.

Mariota completed 21 of 37 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and the one interception against Stanford. Besides a 77-yard run in the first quarter, Mariota netted only 12 yards rushing, often looking flustered under heavy pressure.

"I think a lot times we were hesitating a little bit and we were unsure of some of the fronts we were seeing," Mariota said. "That's the stuff we're really going to have to clean up."

One of the staples of Stanford's defense also is what Mariota avoids most: turnovers.

Stanford has forced a turnover in 33 straight games, the second-longest streak in the country. Being the first team to make Mariota throw an interception this season is a challenge Stanford knows will be difficult, but it's also one it will embrace.

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Top 25 Overview

The biggest Pac-12 game of the year is a true contrast of styles. The Ducks, who average more than 55 points a game, will try to out-tempo a Cardinal defense that allows fewer than 20 points. The winner secures a foothold in the Pac-12 North race and will greatly bolster their BCS standing. This could be a Heisman-defining game for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is 20-1 as a starter with his only loss coming last year to Stanford.

Receiving Leaders

Research Notes

Running back De'Anthony Thomas says Oregon should put up at least 40 points vs Stanford this Thursday. Although they didn't accomplish that last season in a 17-14 OT loss, the Ducks have done it in 6 of the last 8 meetings between the schools and average 42.9 PPG over that span.

Tyler Gaffney had 45 rushing attempts vs Oregon, breaking the Stanford record for rushes in a single game. The previous record was 39 by Tommy Vardell in 1991 vs California.

Tyler Gaffney had a school-record 45 rushing attempts for 157 yards Thursday, with 47 yards coming after contact. Last season against Oregon, Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor had 71 rushing yards after contact, the most the Ducks have allowed to a player in the last two seasons.

Stanford Running Backs

Vs. Oregon, Last 2 Seasons

'12 Taylor

'13 Gaffney

Yds

161

157

Att

33

45*

YAC

71

47

TD

0

1

*School record

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Marcus Mariota completed fewer than half of his passing attempts (4-of-10) when Stanford brought five or more pass rushers Thursday. Mariota was 0-of-5 on such passes in the first half, as Oregon trailed by 17 after 30 minutes. When Stanford brought four or fewer pass rushers, Mariota threw two touchdowns while completing 75% of his attempts.

Oregon has been held under 200 rushing yards three times in the last two seasons, twice against Stanford. The Ducks failed to score a rushing touchdown Thursday for the first time since the BCS National Championship Game against Auburn on Jan. 10, 2011.

Oregon Rushing

Last 2 Seasons

Vs. Stanford

Vs. Others

YPG

130

327.6

Yds per rush

4.1

6.4

TD PG

0.5

4.3

10+ yd rush PG

3.0

10.5

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--Stanford converted 8-of-10 third-down plays in the first half Thursday. The eight third-down conversions were the most Oregon has allowed in a half since Oct. 4, 2008 at USC (eight conversions in second half).
--Oregon had 22 rushing yards in the first half Thursday, its fewest in a half since September 3rd, 2009 at Boise State (6 rushing yards in first half).
--Tyler Gaffney had 24 rushing attempts in the first half Thursday, the most in a first half by a FBS player this season.
--Oregon ran 28 offensive plays in the first half Thursday, its fewest in a first half this season.